Why?
Because I have finally discovered what I want to be when I grow up and I'm wildly in LOVE with it! Explore + photograph + share = happiness for me. And having discovered how much other people are uplifted by seeing ordinary beauty
celebrated and a city presented in an imaginative, unusual way, I’m keen as
mustard for a repeat performance. But this time, on a global scale.

Exploring the unfamous sides of famous cities

I plan to visit 4-6 famous cities for between 2-3 months each, bypassing the postcard clichés to explore and photograph their
‘unfamous’ side - their suburbs.

I'll share what I discover and photograph in weekly posts on a new blog called 52 Suburbs Around the World. Each post will be about a new suburb, complete with a brief history of the suburb and my images.

So every week for a year, just as with 52 Suburbs, you
could look forward to another installment of ‘where are we going today?’
Imagine the excitement of seeing a city you thought you knew – cities like Tokyo,
Paris, Berlin, New York – in a totally new light.

How? Well, not only will I be ignoring the big flashy bits that you normally see and celebrating the 'ordinary beauty' that you don't. I'll also be presenting many of my images as diptychs (fancy word for two images side by
side) with a caption. It's a playful way of presenting images that allows me to make connections between seemingly unrelated images and to tell mini stories. I often juxtapose people with an image from the built environment, making a connection through a shared texture, colour or shape - anything that unites the images and creates a new meaning.

You’ll
laugh (gently). You’ll feel inspired (hopefully). At the very least you’ll be thankful for
having a good excuse not to do any work for 15 minutes.

Why I need Kickstarter - and you

Before we
can all fasten our seatbelts onboard the virtual 52 Suburbs Around the World private jet, there’s just one thing.
Moola. Cashola. The folding stuff. I self-funded 52 Suburbs by being frugal for a year and increasing my mortgage.
This time around I can’t do it on my own - my piggy bank is officially empty
and this is a much more ambitious, expensive project.

I have a couple of small corporate sponsors already and I hope to
attract some more corporate sponsorship - but these are not easy times to do
that.

So I’m
asking for your help. Unless I can drum up sufficient funds 52 Suburbs Around the World will remain
stranded on the tarmac.

I’ve set
my target at $20,000 because the way Kickstarter works is that you only get the
funds if you reach your target. I hope to drum up more than $20,000 but it
seems like a good place to start.

If you’re
not in a position to make a pledge could I please ask you to tell your friends
about the project – and tweet, blog and Like the project on Facebook.

Thanks so much for
listening, I hope you like the rewards, and hopefully, fingers crossed, you’ll soon be enjoying weekly virtual travel adventures
from 52 suburbs around the world!

This project won't happen without you - let's see what people power can do!

The Rewards

I've designed the rewards
so that everyone can contribute to making this project happen,
from just $10 upwards. And remember, every reward comes with the added
bonus of a weekly installment of virtual travel via 52 Suburbs Around the World.com
for an entire year! That and a warm fuzzy feeling issuing from deep
within, somewhere between your solar plexus and heart, that comes
from knowing you've helped to make this amazing project happen. You rock
and you know it.

Please review the Rewards on the right hand side and when you're ready, if you'd like to make a pledge, click on 'Back this Project' in the upper right hand corner or on the Reward you've selected.

(A note about the timing of the delivery of these rewards - I've listed March 2013 because that's when all the elements will be fulfilled. But any rewards that are internet based will be fulfilled as early as January 2012.)

Q&A

Isn't this just a way to raise money for your own holiday?

Er, no. Firstly, it's a photographic project that is designed to be shared with and enjoyed by as many people as possible. And secondly, it ain't no holiday: With my first project, 52 Suburbs, every week I spent 3 days hunting and gathering my images, 2.5 days processing images and then playing around with them to make diptychs and 1 day researching, writing and assembling the blog post - that's a total of 6.5 days a week, and nothing less than 10 hours a day. It was an amazing experience but hard work - ie. there's nothing remotely holiday-ish about it. I expect 52 Suburbs Around the World to be just as much work if not more.

Which cities will be included in the project?

The list
to date is Tokyo, Paris, Berlin and New York. We'll be exploring each
city for between 8-12 weeks each, so that means 8-12 suburbs for each
city. A few other cities might be added
down the line for shorter periods of time.

But haven't those cities been photographed to death?

Yes, but that's precisely why I want to go there - because my objective is to present the unfamous
side of these very famous cities and to paint a far more intimate and
imaginative portrait of them. In other words, to look at them with fresh
eyes and portray them in a way you've never seen before.

When will the project happen?

If the funds are raised, the project will start on January 1, 2012.

Are you going on your own?

No, I'll be taking my 8 year old daughter, Coco, with me. Should be interesting...

Is there going to be another book and exhibition, just as with 52 Suburbs?

Yes, most definitely. The book will either be published by a publishing house or self-published by yours truly. And there will be an exhibition of the work in Sydney at the end of the project too.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $25 or more
About $25

• A signed postcard with an image from the project on one side and a heartfelt thank you from me on the other
• Acknowledged by name on the Thank You Awesome People page of the blog, final project book and exhibition

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $50 or more
About $50

• A limited-edition print (5x7”) of one of the images from the project, mounted, signed and numbered
• Exclusive 'Backers Only' email updates
• A signed postcard with an image from the project on one side and a heartfelt thank you from me on the other
• Acknowledged by name on the Thank You Awesome People page of the blog, final project book and exhibition (Outside of Australia, please add $10)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $75 or more
About $75

• A limited-edition print (8x12”) of one of the images from the project, mounted, signed and numbered • Exclusive 'Backers Only' email updates • Stickers! with images from the project • A signed postcard with an image from the project on one side and a heartfelt thank you from me on the other • Acknowledged by name on the Thank You Awesome People page of the blog, final project book and exhibition (Outside of Australia, please add $15)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $100 or more
About $100

• A credit at the end of a blog post: ‘This suburb has been brought to you by: [insert your name]’
• A limited-edition print (8x12”) of one of the images from the project, mounted, signed and numbered
• Exclusive 'Backers Only' email updates • Stickers! with images from the project
• A signed postcard with an image from the project on one side and a heartfelt thank you from me on the other
• Acknowledged by name on the Thank You Awesome People page of the blog, final project book and exhibition (Outside of Australia, please add $15)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $165 or more
About $165

NEW REWARD!
• A signed print (A3 size) of ANY of the images from my first project, 52 SUBURBS. Choose from the blog, 52suburbs.com, or the book. (This part of the reward will deliver December this year!) • A credit at the end of a blog post: ‘This suburb has been brought to you by: [insert your name]’ • Exclusive 'Backers Only' email updates • Stickers! with images from the project • A signed postcard with an image from the project on one side and a heartfelt thank you from me on the other • Acknowledged by name on the Thank You Awesome People page of the blog, final project book and exhibition (Outside of Australia, please add $15)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $250 or more
About $250

• A digital-download PDF booklet with images not published online, notes and musings that provide an insight into my process • Three limited-edition prints (8x12”) of images from the project, mounted, signed and numbered
• A credit at the end of a blog post: ‘This suburb has been brought to you by: [insert your name]’
• Exclusive 'Backers Only' email updates • Stickers! with images from the project
• A signed postcard with an image from the project on one side and a heartfelt thank you from me on the other
• Acknowledged by name on the Thank You Awesome People page of the blog, final project book and exhibition (Outside of Australia, please add $15)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 275 or more
About US$ 275

NEW REWARD!
• A signed print (A2 size) of ANY of the images from my first project, 52 SUBURBS. Choose from the blog, 52suburbs.com, or the book. (This part of the reward will deliver December this year!) • A digital-download PDF booklet with images not published online, notes and musings that provide an insight into my process • A credit at the end of a blog post: ‘This suburb has been brought to you by: [insert your name]’ • Exclusive 'Backers Only' email updates • Stickers! with images from the project • A signed postcard with an image from the project on one side and a heartfelt thank you from me on the other • Acknowledged by name on the Thank You Awesome People page of the blog, final project book and exhibition (Outside of Australia, please add $15)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 425 or more
About US$ 425

NEW REWARD!
• A signed print (A1 size) of ANY of the images from my first project, 52 SUBURBS. Choose from the blog, 52suburbs.com, or the book. (This part of the reward will deliver December this year!) • A digital-download PDF booklet with images not published online, notes and musings that provide an insight into my process • A credit at the end of a blog post: ‘This suburb has been brought to you by: [insert your name]’ • Exclusive 'Backers Only' email updates • Stickers! with images from the project • A signed postcard with an image from the project on one side and a heartfelt thank you from me on the other • Acknowledged by name on the Thank You Awesome People page of the blog, final project book and exhibition (Outside of Australia, please add $15)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge US$ 500 or more
About US$ 500

• One limited-edition print (12x16”) and two 8x12" limited-edition prints of images from the project, mounted, signed and numbered
• A digital-download PDF booklet with images not published online, notes and musings that provide an insight into my process
• A credit at the end of a blog post: ‘This suburb has been brought to you by: [insert your name]’
• Exclusive 'Backers Only' email updates • Stickers! with images from the project
• A signed postcard with an image from the project on one side and a heartfelt thank you from me on the other
• Acknowledged by name on the Thank You Awesome People page of the blog, final project book and exhibition (Outside of Australia, please add $15)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $750 or more
About $750

• An exclusive 'backer's book' of the project, signed by me • One limited-edition print (12x16”) and two 8x12" limited-edition prints of images from the project, mounted, signed and numbered • A credit at the end of a blog post: ‘This suburb has been brought to you by: [insert your name]’ • Exclusive 'Backers Only' email updates • Stickers! with images from the project • A signed postcard with an image from the project on one side and a heartfelt thank you from me on the other • Acknowledged by name on the Thank You Awesome People page of the blog, final project book and exhibition (Outside of Australia, please add $15)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,000 or more
About $1,000

• A portrait of you and your family/friends/pooch, taken in Sydney (travel not included)
• A limited-edition print (16x23”) of one of the images from the project, mounted, signed and numbered
• An exclusive 'backer's book' of the project, signed by me
• A credit at the end of a blog post: ‘This suburb has been brought to you by: [insert your name]’
• Exclusive 'Backers Only' email updates
• Stickers! with images from the project
• A signed postcard with an image from the project on one side and a heartfelt thank you from me on the other
• Acknowledged by name on the Thank You Awesome People page of the blog, final project book and exhibition (Outside of Australia, please add $15)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,200 or more
About $1,200

• Promote your business for one month on the blog in the Advertisers section. Please email for visitor statistics: 52suburbs@gmail.com
• Acknowledged by business and/or personal name on the Thank You Awesome People page of the blog, final project book and exhibition

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $6,500 or more
About $6,500

• Become an Official Sponsor of the project by sponsoring one of the cities for one month - your brand ad will appear for one month on the blog in the premium position (above fold)
• Acknowledged by business and/or personal name on the Sponsors page of the blog, final project book and exhibition. Please email for visitor statistics: 52suburbs@gmail.com